Will the real Paul Ryan please stand up?

With the Trump administration already off the rails, Ryan has decided to cower rather than lead

So far, President Donald Trump has shown himself to be as incompetent, inept and disastrous as many of us predicted.

Even if we completely ignore his weird obsession with the size of the crowd at his inauguration or his compulsive need to talk about massive voter fraud (that didn’t actually happen) which he claims cost him the popular vote, Trump has still shown himself to be a fool.

Most recently, we discovered Trump’s national security adviser broke the law in trying to negotiate with Russia before the president was even sworn in. Honestly, this would all be funny if it couldn’t potentially impact millions of people not just in America but around the world.

Frankly, I think many expected Trump to prove himself inept pretty quickly. I know I did. But what many didn’t count on was a complete lack of backbone from congressional Republicans, in particular, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville.

Where did he go?

He’s been nothing short of invisible and compliant as Trump and his cronies run roughshod over the constitution.

What’s so depressing about this is it confirms what many liberals have thought for years. Ryan and his Republican colleagues who see obvious wrongdoings are so desperate to jam through their legislation they’re willing to let a madman lay waste to our country in the process. In essence, Ryan is telling the American people he is more interested in his own political agenda than he is in preserving rights for all Americans.

Look, we all know Ryan’s endgame is to eventually run for president. Anyone paying attention to his career can tell you that’s his primary goal. He vets himself spectacularly, always attempting to position himself in a leadership role. But what I don’t understand is how he sees this as a good way to promote himself for his eventual White House run.

He looks bush league. He’s not standing up and fighting for what he thinks is right, he’s sitting quietly in the corner hoping he can just weather the storm that is Trump. That’s not leadership, that’s cowardice.

I certainly hope when Ryan tries to run for president down the road, the American people remember his lack of courage in times like these. I hope they remember how when we needed common sense leaders to stand up against the president, he instead chose to stand back and let the madness happen.

Connor Touhey (ctouhey@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in political science, history and journalism.